Long Beach man, 21, gunned down in drive-by

LONG BEACH — Homicide detectives are investigating a drive-by shooting in a downtown alley that left a man dead, authorities said Wednesday.

Long Beach Police were called to the alley, near the 1000 block of East Sixth Street, at about 10:48 p.m. Tuesday and found a man hit by at least one round of gunfire. Long Beach Fire Department paramedics rushed the victim to a local hospital, where he died the following day, said Lisa Massacani, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.

He was identified as Gelacio Medina Ramirez, 21, of Long Beach, Massacani said.

The preliminary investigation found the victim and several acquaintances were in the alley talking when a car drove through the alley and someone inside the vehicle opened fire, Massacani said.

No words were exchanged prior to the deadly attack, and the car was last seen heading west from the alley toward Alamitos Avenue, where it fled in an unknown direction, the spokeswoman said.

There was no suspect description available Wednesday, but the slaying is being investigated as possibly gang-related, Massacani said.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to call Homicide Detectives Mark McGuire or Greg Krabbe at 562-570-7244.